This afternoon's crop of Red Wings-related news falls into the "lists and information" category, but this summer's still been eye-opening for me in terms of the new reality that there simply is no such thing as an offseason any more.

It's not hiring an assistant coach and video coordinator, but the Big Red Machine never sleeps, whether we're talking about the PR department, ticket sales (potential season ticket-holders have probably visted possible seats at "ice level" today), game operations, promotions, merchandising, food services, maintenance, all departments keep humming along in June, July and August, and I think that's fascinating.

In terms of today's actual news, the Tri-City Herald penned a "blurb" about Jim Hiller's hiring as the Wings' second assistant coach...

DETROIT – The Red Wings today announced that tickets for the 2014 HockeyFest at Joe Louis Arena set for Sunday, Sept. 14 (11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.) will go on sale Wednesday, Aug. 6 at 10:00 a.m. This year’s HockeyFest, presented by Coke Zero and Meijer, features an unforgettable day of hockey-related activities, including a chance to meet current players, Red Wings Alumni and FOX Sports Detroit television personalities. General admission adult tickets for this family-friendly event are priced at $20 apiece, while kids tickets (12 & under) are available for $10 each.

I know that the hiring of assistant coaches doesn't strike most as "big news," but I was both very satisfied with and hugely relieved by the news that the Red Wings had indeed hired Jim Hiller as Babcock's second assistant coach and Andrew Brewer as the team's video coordinator.

Between a seasoned NHL hand with head coaching experience in Tony Granato, an "analytics-friendly" WHL coach looking to cut his teeth in the NHL in Hiller and a 28-year-old with significant international experience in Brewer, Mike Babcock's found himself a superb set of assistants who provide a good combination of "new voices" and strong resumes--as well as "bad cop" (the Penguins' "bad cop" at that, and a "bad cop" who's going to be coaching Dylan Larkin at the U.S. World Junior summer camp next month) a "players' coach" (who might rejuvenate the Tom Renney Power Play) and someone who's familiar with Babcock's methods and the Hockey Canada system of play (which isn't far removed from the Wings' style of play).

If Babcock and Holland could get down to talking contract extension turkey before training camp, I'd feel more comfortable with the situation as a whole, but especially given the later-in-the-summer timeline Babcock had to work with, he can go back to "the lake" in Saskatchewan knowing that he's built a strong coaching team.

"I think face-to-face is best," [Ken] Holland said. "Mike's out in Saskatchewan 'til the middle of August. I'm out in B.C. (British Columbia) for a week or 10 days. I don't think anything will happen on Babs' front until August or September, until we're able to get into Detroit and start gearing up for training camp and we're able to sit down and talk."

Holland told Savage that the Wings were going to fill in their assistant coaching and video coordinator's positions shortly, and he also told Savage that the team's coaching brain drain isn't a concern:

Brewer has been to two World Hockey Championships and three World Junior Hockey Championships since starting with Hockey Canada in late 2011, but his first Olympics tops them all.

“It’s way more than just a hockey event, it’s a truly international sporting event. It’s just on a completely different stage than I had ever seen,” Brewer said. “You forget how big it is. When you see TV numbers afterward and 15-million Canadians watched the Canada-US semi final game, you’re just like ‘Oh wow, that’s half the country watching the hockey game for the team I’m working with.’ You kind of forget how much we’re united, even if you’re not a hockey fan, you still follow the Olympics.”

Hiller was indeed Paul Coffey's roomate back in 1993, and he didn't last very long in the NHL, but the 45-year-old native of Nelson, BC spent three years at Northern Michigan University, and as soon as his playing career ended, he became an assistant coach for Tri-City. He spent one year as the head coach of the BCHL's Port Alberni Bulldogs, and then he went on to coach the Chilliwack Bruins for 3 seasons, and he spent the past 4 seasons with Tri-City, taking them to the WHL final in 2009.

The Slovak news media's been a little preoccupied with Tomas Tatar's personal life lately (to quote Kermit the Snitch, "That ain't none of my business"--and it isn't), so Tatar gave an interview to his official website regarding his new 3-year contract extension.

The interview, conducted by Valerian Lukacko, is straightforward-enough to roughly translate, and it reflects the Slovak media confusion regarding "restricted free agency" that's been present from the start:

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